I just read a research article that asked the question, “How do you learn to walk?” The answer: Thousands of steps and dozens of falls PER DAY! The researchers video-recorded infants and observed their efforts to walk. The results reminded me of a terrific book I read, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s autobiography “Total Recall,” in which he describes how he developed the most muscular body in the world (lots of repetitions), how he learned his lines as an actor (lots of repetitions), and how he learned just about every skill he needed in an incredible career as a body builder, actor, business person, and governor (lots of repetitions).
I also have benefited form lots of practice — as a teacher, a scientist, a tennis player, etc. Frequent practice seems to work best. Lately, I have been learning how to use Moodle, an online learning platform. The more I use the various functions of Moodle, the better I get. I am motivated by a drive to deliver a useful, enjoyable unit. Arnold was driven by his desire to succeed at everything he did. But the desire of infants to walk must be hard to surpass. Think if you tried to do some specific new behavior thousands of times a day — and you kept trying even if you failed time and again. That is the behavior of champions.
What are you learning through relentless practice?
John Malouff, PhD, JD
Assoc Prof of Psychology
Meditation! Everyday (well…almost everyday, but the aim is for twice a day, everyday) I get up early, go for a 30/40 minute walk, then come home and practice my meditation for 20 minutes. It’s a challenge and not easy, but the benefits are only gained by practice, practice, practice. I highly recommend it 😉
I have practiced music for 46 years. I started when I was six years old. On my third piano lesson the old Catholic Nun who was teaching me held my two hands in hers and looked me straight in the eyes with a warmth and understanding I have rarely encountered. She said “you get this music thing, don’t you”. I said yes with internal tears of relief running through my whole person. I felt like I had come home.
On the way home in the car ’cause we live 17 miles out of town I told my parents that I was going to be a musician when I grew up. I started to practice every day, then more, then more. I just loved the noises. I used to sit at night with these smelly old hardcovers of the “Lives of the Famous Composers”. …..and I practiced.
When holidays came I would refuse to go unless I could practice. By the end of high school I was practicing 3-4 hours a day. I was ambitious, but more than anything I just loved the noises I could make. I loved the actual immersion in the sound.
When I started playing in orchestras and band I just couldn’t believe it. It was like sitting bathed in a light of just sheer intelligence. All those other great players around me playing their souls all over the air. Even when the bands went badly I just loved the practices.
I practiced until I was able to play and make a good living out of my music. I began teaching……and I kept practicing.
I am now 52 and doing a psych major. Today I took time off the computer..and practiced. I walk 5k every morning with my wife, I ride my bike 25-30 km every day and I study. I have great friends and have lots of fun………but no day is complete without my practice. I love it now like I have always loved it. It is how I found me when I was six years old, and how I find me every day still.
Hi Mike. People who do what they enjoy are happy people. Practice leads to skill, which leads to satisfaction, which leads to more practice, and so on. Your story makes me want to practice something!